UX Research Surveys: Designing Questions That Deliver Real Insights

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader

Surveys are one of the most widely used UX research tools — and for good reason. They scale quickly, capture a broad range of user opinions, and provide quantifiable data that can validate or complement qualitative insights. But not all surveys are created equal. Poorly designed surveys risk producing noise instead of clarity. Done well, UX research surveys can be a powerful way to connect user experience with business outcomes.

Why Use UX Surveys?

Surveys are best for answering “what do users think, feel, or prefer at scale?” Unlike interviews or usability tests, which focus on depth, surveys capture breadth.

Key strengths:

• Scalability: Reach hundreds or thousands of users quickly.

• Benchmarking: Track satisfaction, usability, or perception over time.

• Quant validation: Confirm patterns surfaced in qualitative studies.

• Prioritization: Identify which issues matter most to the majority of users.

Types of UX Research Surveys

1. Post-Task Surveys

Short surveys given right after a usability test task.

• Example question: “On a scale of 1–7, how easy was this task?” (SEQ – Single Ease Question). Helps measure task-level usability.

2. Post-Session Surveys

Given after an entire usability study.

• Example: “Overall, how satisfied are you with this experience?” Provides a macro-level measure of experience.

3. Customer Feedback Surveys

Deployed within a product or service, often ongoing.

• Examples: CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), CES (Customer Effort Score), NPS (Net Promoter Score). Tracks ongoing user sentiment and highlights pain points.

4. Attitudinal Surveys

Explore user beliefs, motivations, or mental models.

• Example: “Which of these best describes how you choose a healthcare provider?” Provides insight into user decision-making frameworks.

5. Benchmark Surveys

Repeatable surveys that measure experience over time or across competitors.

• Example: SUS (System Usability Scale). Tracks progress and measures ROI of design changes.

Best Practices for UX Surveys

1. Keep it short

2. Only ask what you’ll use. Long surveys increase dropout and reduce data quality.

3. Ask clear, unbiased questions

4. Avoid leading wording like: “How much did you enjoy this simple feature?”

5. Use neutral phrasing: “How easy or difficult was this feature to use?”

6. Use the right scale

7. 5– or 7–point Likert scales work well. Keep scales consistent across the survey.

8. Mix closed and open-ended questions

9. Closed questions = easy to analyze quantitatively.

10. Open-ended = rich qualitative context to explain numbers.

11. Pilot your survey

12. Run it with a small group first to check clarity and timing.

13. Tie results to business outcomes

14. Don’t stop at “70% satisfaction.” Show impact:

    • “Improving satisfaction from 70% to 85% correlated with a 12% drop in call center volume.”

Why Surveys Alone Aren’t Enough

Surveys are powerful, but they’re just one piece of the puzzle. On their own, they tell you what users say. Combined with analytics, usability testing, and interviews, they reveal the full story:

• Say (surveys) + Do (observed behavior) = actionable insights.

Final Thought

UX Research Surveys are more than a quick way to gather opinions — they are a strategic tool to measure experience, validate improvements, and speak the language of business.

The key is in designing surveys with intention: asking the right questions, keeping them short, and connecting the results to business impact. When done right, surveys not only measure satisfaction — they help drive decisions that improve products, reduce costs, and build stronger user trust.